England legend David Beckham has said he likes Manchester United minority stakeholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The Inter Miami co-owner added that he had faith in Ratcliffe’s vision as he was not only “one of the best” businessmen in the world but was also an ardent Manchester United supporter.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe Is Overseeing All-Things-Soccer at Manchester United
Following a drawn-out bidding process, Manchester United owners, the Glazer family agreed to sell a minority 27.7% stake to Ratcliffe and his company INEOS. According to BBC, Ratcliffe, the richest man in Britain, paid a whopping £1.25 billion ($1.62 billion) to take charge of soccer operations at Man Utd.
Under Ratcliffe’s leadership, United has prized chief executive Omar Berrada from Manchester City while plans to build a massive new stadium are in the pipeline. There have also been a couple of controversial calls. The club recently removed Sir Alex Ferguson as its ambassador as a cost-cutting measure, whereas Erik ten Hag remains at the helm despite the Red Devils’ struggles on the pitch.
David Beckham Has Faith In Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Vision
An overwhelming majority of Manchester United supporters are expecting a positive change under Ratcliffe’s leadership, and 1998-99 Treble-winner Beckham is one of them.
“I think that it definitely needed change. I think, speaking as a United fan, I think many people said the club needed change and it needed a fresh perspective on how this club needs to be run and the decisions that are made,” the Englishman said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
“I really like Jim, I’ve met him a few times over the years with a few mutual friends. I think that he’s a fan and obviously he’s a great businessman as well, one of the best and one of the biggest. But I think more importantly the fans see that he cares and I think that that’s a big part of it.”
He concluded by adding:
“I think the fans had lost faith with the leadership over the years and obviously he really cares about, you know, what he wants to do and what he wants to create. So hopefully things will change, but these things take time. I think we’ve been quite patient as United fans over the years, but we want those good old days back. We want those days back, and the sooner the better.”
Manchester United, the most successful team in English soccer, has not won the Premier League title since 2013. It will be interesting to see how Ratcliffe and Co. go about ending that drought in the coming years.
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